Does amlodipine lower heart rate?

In this article:

• Amlodipine and heart rate
• Amlodipine vs. other blood pressure meds
• Ways to lower your heart rate
• The bottom line

In this article

• Amlodipine and heart rate
• Amlodipine vs. other blood pressure meds
• Ways to lower your heart rate
• The bottom line

Sold under brand names such as Amvaz, Katerzia, Norliqva, and Norvasc, amlodipine is a medication that is FDA approved for the treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure), chronic stable angina (chest pain and pressure), vasospastic angina (coronary artery spasm), and coronary artery disease. It belongs to a class of medications called calcium channel blockers, which is further broken down into two classes: dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers. Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, such as amlodipine, work by relaxing blood vessels, decreasing how hard your heart has to work to pump blood through the body, while nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers work by affecting the heart muscle, impacting heart rate and contractility. But does amlodipine specifically lower heart rate? Although amlodipine is often a top choice for lowering blood pressure, it has a minimal impact on heart rate—unlike other vasodilators in the nondihydropyridine calcium channel blocker drug class.

Does amlodipine lower heart rate?

“The short answer is, ‘no,’ amlodipine does not affect your heart rate,” says Bryan S. Canterbury, MD, an emergency medicine physician outside of Boston, Massachusetts. “Any effect on heart rate it might have would be from lowering the peripheral vascular resistance and would be very minor.”

“There are other calcium channel blockers that can lower the heart rate, but amlodipine is not one of them,” agrees Kevin Rabii, DO, a cardiologist with Memorial Hermann in Houston, Texas.

Amlodipine vs. other blood pressure medications

Amlodipine is a first-line medication for lowering blood pressure. After you take amlodipine, it works by blocking calcium channels in the vascular smooth muscle of your arteries. This causes the arteries to relax, “decreasing the stiffness of the arteries and reducing the pressure needed to push the blood through,” explains Dr. Canterbury.

Although amlodipine doesn’t typically impact your heart rate, other antihypertensive medications can, according to Hosam Hmoud, MD, a cardiology fellow at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, New York. These include:

Nondihydropyridine calcium channel blockers like diltiazem, or verapamil: “Diltiazem or verapamil are preferred for treating patients who need both heart rate and blood pressure control, such as those with atrial fibrillation,” Dr. Hmoud explains.

Beta blockers: Beta blockers work by blocking hormones like adrenaline, causing blood vessels to relax and blood pressure and heart rate to come down. Carvedilol, labetalol, metoprolol and atenolol are more effective in lowering heart rate than amlodipine, say Drs. Hmoud and Canterbury. “Of those, metoprolol is the most common and most effective at lower heart rate,” explains Dr. Canterbury.

8 ways to lower your heart rate

Your heart normally beats between 60 and 100 times per minute. An elevated heart rate is known as tachycardia, which occurs when your heart beats more than 100 times each minute. Although heart rate can increase during normal daily living, from exercise or stress, untreated chronic tachycardia can lead to heart issues such as low cardiac output, chest pain, dizziness, heart failure, and heart attacks.

In general, it’s not recommended that you intentionally lower your heart rate unless you are having a heart problem. “Heart rate can vary, with some individuals having a higher resting heart rate and others a lower,” says Dr. Rabii. “There are definitely pathological forms of low and fast heart rates, but these are usually accompanied by symptoms such as fainting, dizziness, or palpitations.”

Chronically elevated heart rates are typically caused by medical conditions such as:

• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
• Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT)
• Sinus tachycardia
• Ventricular tachycardia

Your healthcare provider will prescribe appropriate medications to treat any condition you have that’s causing your elevated heart rate. However, maintaining a healthy heart rate is something that all of us should aim for, whether or not we have a medical condition that’s causing a chronically elevated heart rate. Not only is having a healthy, balanced heart rate good for your overall health, but it can also help lower your blood pressure, Dr. Canterbury says.

Here are eight steps you can take to lower your heart rate.

1. Quit smoking

It’s known that smoking is bad for your heart. Not only is smoking associated with an overall increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but people who smoke tend to have higher resting heart rates than non-smokers. If you are a smoker and you experience an elevated heart rate, you should consider quitting smoking.

2. Exercise regularly

Exercise is good for your overall health and your cardiovascular system. On top of that, it’s well-known that regular exercise can reduce your resting heart rate. Aerobic exercise is especially helpful. “Exercise which increases your heart rate (brisk walking, running, etc.) will cause your heart rate at rest to be lower,” says Dr. Canterbury. But any type of exercise is helpful, whether it be yoga, walking, tai chi, or strength training. An added bonus? It prevents weight gain, which can negatively affect your blood pressure.

3. Stay hydrated

Something as simple as making sure you are well-hydrated can keep your heart beating at a healthy rate. For instance, a 2017 study found that after drinking water, heart rate and systolic blood pressure decreased in study participants for 30 minutes. It’s especially important to rehydrate after exercise or when you are in a very warm climate.

RELATED: Can drinking water cause low blood pressure?

4. Reduce stress

Destressing and relaxing are vital steps you can take to decrease your heart rate. “Stress reduction (through exercise, meditation, etc.) will help lower your heart rate,” Dr. Canterbury says. “Something as simple as petting a dog will also help lower your blood pressure.” This, in turn, helps lower heart rate, as factors that lower blood pressure also lower heart rate, he says.

5. Try deep breathing

One particularly powerful way to lower stress is to practice deep breathing. Not only will deep breathing help you feel more at peace, but it can lead to better heart health. For example, a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis from 2024 found that breathing exercises had “moderate but significant positive effect[s]” on blood pressure and heart rate.

6. Reduce caffeine

Caffeine may be good at waking you up in the morning, but too much caffeine, especially chronically, can cause an elevated heart rate. For instance, according to one study, consuming more than 400 mg of caffeine each day (about four cups of coffee) can cause an elevated heart rate and high blood pressure over time.

7. Avoid alcohol

Alcohol in moderation shouldn’t impact heart rate significantly, but heavy drinking should be avoided if you want to keep your heart rate in a healthy range. As a 2020 systematic review notes, high-dose alcohol consumption increases heart rates for up to 24 hours after drinking.

8. Prioritize sleep

Getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night can reduce stress and improve your overall health and well-being. Good sleep is also correlated with overall cardiac health.  Your sleep position can make a difference, too. Research has shown that the left recumbent position, which means lying horizontally on your left side, can reduce your heart rate.

The bottom line

Amlodipine is an antihypertensive drug often prescribed to lower blood pressure. It works by blocking calcium channels in the smooth muscle of blood vessels, allowing blood vessels to expand so blood flows more freely through them. While lowering heart rate is not one of the known side effects of amlodipine, it’s an effective medication to treat hypertension.

If you have further questions about amlodipine, your heart rate, or your cardiovascular health in general, seek medical advice from a healthcare provider.